The present invention relates to a tube plate for tube bundles for chemical reactors and heat exchangers in general.
The present invention can also be applied to petrochemical and refinery reactors.
As is known, chemical reactors consist of containers with large dimensions, inside which chemical reactions take place at a high temperature and a high pressure.
Inside their substantially cylindrical body, these chemical reactors generally have a plurality of tubes, or tube bundles, which can carry out various functions, including assisting heat exchange between the operating fluids.
These tube bundles are installed and kept in an operative position by means of use of tube plates, which in some cases can have large dimensions.
With particular reference to the state of the art, it can be noted that, at present, the tube plates are produced in a single piece, or alternatively in several pieces which are welded together and then finished, for example which are drilled and/or machined.
However, these processing operations cause some significant technical problems which must be faced satisfactorily.
Firstly, in order to carry out these processing operations, particular machine tools are necessary, which have large capacities, large useful dimensions, and high costs.
In addition, the operations to be carried out for these purposes are such that they require processing times which are often too lengthy for present requirements.
Other problems according to the known art are caused by deformations which are created in the tube plate, as a result of welding shrinkages, in particular in the case of joints which are fully welded.